We live in an increasingly digital world – where firms are using an increasing variety of technology tools to automate or streamline a big selection of key business functions to extend productivity.
These technology tools can often simplify a number of office responsibilities, from supply chain management to aggregating sales data. However, the ever-growing technology stack can actually introduce a latest complication for small businesses: effectively managing and monitoring all of your technology tools.
1. Document your current technology stack
You cannot manage your technology stack if you do not know what’s in it. Therefore, your company must start by gathering information about all the tools it uses. This should cover every department (and in a small company, probably every person) and include every technology product your company pays for to do its job.
Once you have received this information from everyone in your organization, make a list of each tool, which department uses it, and the total cost of the subscription. This high-level view is an essential place to begin for managing your technology stack.
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2. Identify redundancies
Small businesses can sometimes operate in a siled environment where one department is not even aware of the tool one other is using. This can easily result in a situation where different employees subscribe to different technology tools that functionally do the same thing.
In fact, it is estimated that the average company wastes money (*5*)35 percent of its budget in the case of cloud and SaaS tools, where idle or redundant services are a common offender.
A small business won’t need (or budget for) a lot of video conferencing or workplace collaboration tools. Identify where different tools in your technology stack overlap. If you have multiple tools that perform the same function, you may lower your expenses and help your entire team be more efficient by eliminating add-ons.
You may additionally discover that some technology tools are not getting used to their full extent. Quite often, you may reduce costs by switching to a tool that only provides the features your team actually needs, quite than paying for a bunch of unnecessary extra features.
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Fill the gaps in your tech stack
When assessing your current technology stack, it is best to also take the time to think about any inefficiencies where adopting a latest tool could improve business functions. You probably would not be alone in this. Vcita questionnaire of over 3,000 small and micro business owners found that 96% of them adopted a latest digital tool in 2021. These tools help increase the efficiency of their business, 97.1% say, and 32.7% use 4 to 6 tools frequently.
This data highlights the growing range of applications available to deal with common small business needs, reminiscent of finding latest customers, managing money flow, and retaining existing customers. If you discover inefficiencies in your business operations, probabilities are there is a technology tool available that may provide help to.
Make a list of areas that may profit from additional technical assistance to guide future research into latest tools your company may profit from.
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Name dysfunctional technology
Analyzing your technology stack is also a good time to judge how well the tools your company uses actually work. Not surprisingly, this will greatly provide help to determine which tool to maintain if you have multiple software subscriptions for the same task. However, in-depth discussions with your team may provide help to determine which redundant technology tools need updating.
If a technology tool doesn’t streamline processes, communication, and documentation, your business is likely not running as efficiently because it could. A tool that is confusing or time-consuming is more likely to hurt your productivity as a substitute of helping you.
In this case, the solution ought to be to seek out a alternative that can perform the desired task more efficiently. Workday’s research shows this 75 percent business leaders determine to implement SaaS tools to enhance the flexibility of their company.
The right tools will allow your team to focus their efforts on more necessary, bottom-line work, while also helping them higher perform their day-to-day responsibilities.
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Develop a surveillance strategy for the future
Your job is not done once you have done your initial technology stack assessment. Your assessment ought to be future-focused, identifying and responding not only to the needs and challenges you face today, but also to those who may arise in the future as you scale up.
To do this, it is best to develop a surveillance strategy that can guide future evaluation of technology tools. Processes ought to be in place to find out whether a latest tool ought to be used or whether a particular program ought to be discontinued. Clear assessment and approval guidelines will prevent unnecessary and unauthorized spending, making your technology stack easy to administer.
The right technology tools can significantly increase your productivity. However, a disorganized tech stack can easily turn into a drag on your bottom line when you spend on unnecessary or outdated tools.
By rigorously assessing your current technology stack and implementing a governance strategy for future use, you may have a clear picture of which tools should be implemented, replaced, or retired altogether.